complete bay area news coverage starts right now. this is bay area news at 7:00. >> good evening, it's thursday, october 31, i'm gasia mikaelian. this is bay area news at 7:00. we are following developing news in phoenix tonight where a united express flight from san francisco landed safely after being diverted. a threatening note was found in a bathroom. flight 5573 was headed to san antonio, texas, the pilot landed safely at sky harbor airport just before 5:00 p.m. 22 people were taken off flight and into the terminal while a bomb squad sweeps the plane and searches the luggage. >> it is halloween night and right now, people are gathering in san francisco's castro

district for the traditional street party there. as many as 10,000 people, most in costumes, are expected tonight. happening now are amber lee. hi amber. >> hi, gasia, the mood is festive out here. it just got dark a short while ago, but we have seen plenty of people decked out in costumes. in recent years, the city has scaled back the halloween celebration here after some problems with violence and now the crowds are smaller. community leaders tell me they expect 10,000 people to show up here tonight from all over the bay area and other countries. >> i absolutely love halloween here. just a chance you can act like a little kid and be as cool as a nightmare and everything. >> funny and exciting. >> and where are you from? >> freedom of expression. radical self-expression, and i'm going to channel my inner 70s child. >> what gave you that idea?

>> i really like costumes, i decided i wanted to be that. >> okay. >> halloween in the castro drew more than 100,000 people. in recent years, that number has come down a lot. still a large crowd is expected as it gets darker, as it gets later into the night. merchants are expecting a strong police presence here. in fact, a short while ago, i saw a group of police officers walk by. they tell me no street closures here in the castro tonight. reporting live in san francisco, amber lee, ktvu channel 2 news. >> halloween can be a dangerous night on the road. around the bay area, plans call for extra police, chp officers and sheriff deputies to be on patrol looking out for drunk drivers. check points are going to be set out. some will be out until 4:00 tomorrow morning. and at ktvu.com, you can check out a slide view of our bay area viewers in their halloween

costumes. pedestrian accidents are on the rise in san francisco and safety advocates say not enough is being done to stop them. more than 900 people were hit by cars last year at the highest number in 12 years. 16 of those people were killed. the city is taking measures, including installing more countdown clocks at intersections, but accident victim, john lowell, says it's taking too long. >> i don't want pedestrian collisions to happen to anybody because of the damage that was sustained on me, maybe what occurs to other pedestrians. >> supervisor, scott weiner, who drafted legislation to speed up the process blames city bureaucracy for the backlog. in recent days, there's been several incidents involving vehicles striking wildlife along 280 out on the peninsula. can be quite dangerous. how biologists are trying to pinpoint the problem areas and implement solutions.

kara. >> reporter: the goal is to reduce dangerous and costly crashes on the freeway and protect people and animals. it's not unusual to see wild animals along interstate 280. >> during the night, a lot of the deer just dart across the whole freeway and almost hit you. >> they are out and much more visible this time of year. >> this mountain lion was hit on the freeway just last week. >> people are driving 70, 75 miles an hour. >> ktvu released a study. it analyzed crashes and used collars on deer and wildlife surveillance cameras to learn how and why wild animals move under and across 280. >> any time there's a collision between a vehicle and deer, there's a risk of damage or injury. >> the biologist behind the study identified three hot spots along 280. around the road near the reservoir, edgewood road and near woodside. he says each crash cost the community an average of $6700

and much more when there's a serious injury or lawsuit. >> sometimes the deer will pop up over the hood and go through the windshield of a vehicle and obviously injure the people inside. >> he recommends 8-foot tall fencing along the problem areas to encourage animals to cross safely under the freeway. the cost between 1 and 4 million. >> is that worth it? >> well, if you talk to the people who get injured or die, their family members who people who die on the interstate is definitely worth it. if we take a dollar value, it is cost effective within five years. it will pay for itself within five years. >> a spokesperson for caltrans won't decide whether to spend the money on this until after seeing the completed report, which is slated to be released in the next couple of weeks. we're live in san mateo county, ktvu channel 2 news. >> a pair of stray pit bulls bit and attacked before police killed one of those dogs. it started with one man and his dogs were attacked near the

trail at about 8:45 last night. the fisher family heard the commotion and when they went to help, the father and daughter were both bitten along with another man. the fishers blame the pet owners, not the dogs. >> it was a puppy underneath the car, which explains a lot. we have two pit bulls ourselves. and they wouldn't hurt nobody. >> responding officers say the dogs charged them, forcing them to open fire, killing one of the dogs. the other was taken to antioch animal services. so far, the owner has not come forward. >> police arrested a father after he allegedly left his two children in a car to fend for themselves overnight. police found a ten-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy inside an suv on north hill view drive as temperatures dipped to 46 degrees. robert honda tells us what the young girl did to try to protect her little brother. >> a san jose man brought his two children with him when he came to visit a friend here on north hill drive tuesday

afternoon. police say 29-year-old, julio reyes left his ten-year-old daughter and 8-year-old son in his suv parked outside the house overnight for about 13 hours. a neighbor who asked not to be on camera said she saw the parked vehicle on the street that night, the next morning, spotted a small foot pushing on the car horn. >> it was bothering me and i said maybe there's -- you know, they were there or he's there. that's when i called 911. >> the sergeant responded to the call and said he found the two children hungry. police got the children food and turned them over to family and children services. when reyes finally contacted police late last night, trying to find his children and his vehicle, he was arrested for felony child endangerment. >> were their lives or health in extreme danger? >> yes, it was 46 degrees out that evening, didn't have any blankets or methods of heating themselves. they didn't have keys. it was a dark area.

so, yeah, in my opinion, they were in danger. >> what did you think when you found out the kids were there overnight? >> my god, i said i'm glad that i called. >> you probably really helped them. >> yeah, maybe i did. >> police say they are still investigating why reyes never came back. reyes remains in custody in jail tonight and declined our request for an interview. robert honda, ktvu channel 2 news. >> continuing coverage now that bart train accident that killed two workers, the public regulations -- to protect the men and women who work track side. they contain better action. it's called general order 175 and said to be the first in the nation. still, commissioner say it was not have prevented that deadly october 19th accident. >> look forward to the situation where our rules

prevent accidents rather than respond to accidents. >> other emergency rules were added because of the accident. they include having a mandatory watch person and threeway communication between track side workers, central command, and train operators. three teenagers said good-bye to their parents today, killed by suspected drunk driver. family and friends gathered at the chapel of the chimes at hayward this morning to remember camal. the couple was out walking their dog when they were struck and killed one week ago. marjorie is now facing charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. her arraignment was postponed today. a danville woman is on the hook for the $100,000 it took to clear her home of several feet of trash and some 1500 wild rats she was feeding. people who live in the neighborhood say the 65-year- old woman's home was so full of trash, she would sleep in the chicken coop. the homeowner's association wasn't helping. they contacted the city

control. the homeowner removed. >> the smell of urine was coming up from her house over to my house. you move to danville, you don't expect to live next to a lady who will feed rats. >> the city says it took about a month to clean out the entire home. a lien may force its sale. as lots of students here at stanford celebrate halloween with candy, some have no appetite at all. why the county health department is here on campus. >> also ahead, the big change coming to airline travel. the rules are changing for passenger behavior. great weather for all the trick or treaters this everyoning. coming up, the neighbors that will hit the upper 70s for your friday and the coolest day of the weekend.

: police on the peninsula are checking to see if there are anymore possible victims of an after school child aide arrested for lewd acts. eric michael was arrested last friday. he works at the elementary school and is accused of kissing a young girl under age 14 and touching her inappropriately. a district employee allegedly witnessed the incident. >> there was somebody who saw somebody who reported it to their supervisor, who reported it to their supervisor, that was strange. >> police say he used to work at elementary school. he passed a background check when he was hired one year ago. he is out on $100,000 bail and scheduled to be in court in december. a suspected norovirus outbreak sickened dozens of students. public health officials have been called in to investigate and a campus dorm is getting a thorough cleaning. >> it is halloween at stanford university, but for 51 students, this week has been more trick than treat.

>> we had 51 students that reported stomach flu, intense stomach flu with vomiting. >> all the students live on the northwest side of campus. four were so dehydrated they went to stanford medical center for iv fluids. >> i'm hoping i don't get sick, of course. >> kara cook is a recent graduate who ate at the hall on tuesday and was also there with students last night. >> may seem concerned. i think a couple of them weren't feeling very well. >> health department is here trying to find the source of the outbreak and so far, officials say the evidence points to norovirus. >> the norovirus can spread from person to person through somebody sick has touched. it can be a door handle or it could be a utensil. >> starting tonight, the diner hall will be shut down for two days to be completely sanitized. >> they will serve a meal dinner tonight, they won't have any self-service food available. >> adding that all food service workers have been cleared with none getting sick.

one student said she was not surprised by the outbreak. >> we share bathrooms. we share kitchens. we are all in the same dining hall. i mean, it's only natural people -- illness is going to spread. >> crews are cleaning the rest of the dorms common area. the school and health officials are warning students to wash hands often and stay away from others if they are sick. ktvu channel 2 news. >> federal prosecutor is set to conduct a formal review into the death of a georgia teenager found inside a rolled up wrestling mat at his high school. 17-year-old, kendrick johnson died in january. at the time, it was a freak accident. but his family thinks someone killed him. a judge ordered investigators to release all the surveillance video they reviewed. the virginia supreme court overturned a jury's wrongful death verdict. it was brought by the families of two of the 32 vic rims of the 2007 virginia tech massacre. they argued that the victims might have survived if the campus had been alerted to the

shootings at a dorm 2 1/2 hours earlier. the justices ruled the state and school could not have anticipated the gunman's intentions. >> chevron is due to report its third quarter earnings tomorrow morning and they could be significantly lower. the san ramon company says its oil and gas production is rising, but it's not producing as much. that's mainly due to maintenance at its southern california refinery. chevron is the second largest oil and gas company in the country. wall street posted losses for a second day in a row. nasdaq loss 10. this is the last day of october and for the month, the dow was up 3%. nasdaq almost 4%. : mountain based google unveiled its smart phone. the device is the slimmest and fastest in the lineup. the phones are available for purchase today. it will cost you about $349 for the 16 gigabyte version. it runs on the upgraded android operating system. >> a big change today, going forward, it will allow

passengers to use most electronic devices during takeoff and landing. but as doug reports, there are still some restrictions. >> the federal aviation administration announcing airlines can allow passengers to use most electronic devices during all phases of flight, including takeoffs and landings. the committee determined that most commercial airplanes can tolerate radio interference from portable electronic devices. it's safe to down load materials, like e book, calendars, and to play games. >> currently, passengers are required to turn off their devices once a plane's door closes. they cannot restart them until the plane reaches 10,000 feet and they have to turn off the devices again when the plane lands. these restrictions now removed by today's ffa decision. but using cell phones will still be prohibited. >> i want to be clear that you still cannot talk on your phone during flight.

the federal communications commission governs cell phone use during flight and the committee did not consider that issue. all devices should be in airplane mode. >> u.s. travel association and industry group welcoming the move calling it a win/win policy. the faa began restricting the use of electronic devices in 1966, but the agency says the changes will not take effect immediately. >> each airline will determine how and when it will allow passengers the broader use of tablets, e readers, and smart phones. >> connected to the internet will be prohibited below 10,000 feet. in washington, doug, fox news. >> more details, it will be up to the airlines to develop plans to implement the new rules and they'll have to conduct tests of the equipment on their plane and submit the results to the faa for approval. developing news now out of central texas where more than a foot of rain has fallen. the water rose quickly turning streets into rivers. the one fatality is a man who

was swept out of his vehicle. officials turned to boats, rafts, helicopters to make dozens of rescues, the rain started falling last night and continued into today. halloween trick or treating was canceled in many cities. wow. here in the bay area, trick- or-treating is in full swing. >> right now in full swing, gasia. temperatures cooling off rapidly. that's the biggest concern. we are cooling off over the next few hours, back down into the upper 40s, but overall, no rain threat this evening. we aren't talking about an extreme chill. temperatures from this afternoon range from the 60s in pacifica. liver more, antioch, santa rosa, here's our live camera looking towards san francisco and we're in the clear right now. as you can see, some fog, not here, but the north coast, right around cape mendocino. we have mostly clear skies,

temperatures cooling off. back down into the upper 50s in santa rosa and napa. san francisco 58. san jose 62. still mild in the south bay, but probably by the 8:00 or 9:00 hour, definitely need the sweater or jacket with the cooldown. for tonight, mostly clear skies, tomorrow, more sunshine. the warming trend continues. the weekend, we go the other direction for saturday and sunday. a bit of a drop off in our temperatures. overnight lows first thing tomorrow morning, coolest locations will be in the upper 30s for santa rosa, napa. and lots of 40s for concord, livermore, and san jose. so high pressure in command of our weather for one more day. we'll call it a warm friday. we're thinking 60s and 70s. here's the change. this weather system moves in from the north into the weekend. you can see temperatures dropping into saturday and sunday. by monday, the winds could be increasing out of north. that will increase the fire danger somewhat. keep an eye on that for monday and into tuesday. starting out the day in the 40s and 50s. the greens and yellows link up to the 70s. warmest locations inland, mid

to upper 70s. lots of 70s in the forecast maps for your friday afternoon. we'll take a look at the high, santa rosa mid 70s. more 70s from vallejo, fairfield, and vacaville. oakland will go 73. pleasantton 76 degrees and 74. after a cool start in the morning, bundle up and a nice recovery into the afternoon. look ahead, your five-day forecast with your weekend in view. sunday, the coolest day of the weekend, breezy conditions by monday and don't forget to change the clocks before you go to bed saturday night. gasia. >> thank you. tomorrow is opening day for the winter ski season at the mountain resort. you can see or snow board, but only be open. plan to decide tomorrow whether to keep the resort open on saturday or sunday. elsewhere in the sierra, squaw valley plans to reopen the 27th. it is a lifeline for many families. tonight, the cuts to a federal program that put food in the mouths of millions of americans. and he is out of rehab, how

soon before he is back on the field? the change in status before the 49er linebacker, alden smith. ♪ ♪ looks like you started to make something. ♪ oh, a green!

♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] cheerios. with flavors your heart will love. and why can you move the tv out here? the wireless receiver. i got that when i switched to u-verse. but why? because it's so much better than cable. it's got more hd channels, more dvr space. yeah, but i mean, how did you know? i researched. no, i-i told you.

no. yeah! no. the important part is that you're happy now. and i got you this visor. you made a visor! yes! that i'll never wear. ohh. [ male announcer ] get u-verse tv for just $19 a month for two years with qualifying bundles. rethink possible. starting tomorrow, millions of american who's depend on food stamps will see their benefits cut. that includes a quarter of a million people here in the bay area. food banks are gearing up and

expecting to see additional demand. the change will likely affect places such as st. anthony's in san francisco, which gets its food from food banks to provide meals. >> when people have less food stamps, they will be here sooner in the month than they usually are, because they will have spent their money sooner. >> food stamp benefits were boosted during the recession, but that was temporary. an increase is about to expire. it means the family gets $632 a month will receive $36 less. employees from several silicon valley companies volunteered to help fix the government website for the affordable care act. the companies include oracle, google, and red hat. the site healthcare.gov had trouble handling signups. the obama administration promised to have it fixed by the end of november. aldon smith could be back on the field next weekend after being reinstated to the active roster today. the 24-year-old was placed on the nonfootball injury list

last month. he went to a treatment facility for substance abuse after being arrested and jailed on sus suspicion. he turned himself in to face weapons charges stemming from a house party last year. >> first game to be played at levi stadium won't be football, but soccer. earthquakes will host a seattle sounders next august for the debut of the 49ers new $1.2 billion stadium. earthquake season ticketholders will have priority for that game august 2. thank you for making ktvu your choice for news tonight. we'll see you the next time news breaks. i'm gasia mikaelian. our coverage continues with the 10:00 news and tonight as children head outdoors, ensure sex offenders, stay indoors, we'll show you how they do it. keep in mind, we are always here for you at ktvu.com. tmz is next right here on tv 36. for complete bay area news coverage. stay with ktvu channel 2 news

and ktvu.com. news and weather available any time you need it.

>> today on "tmz" -- >> first of all, thanks so much brad and mack for jacking my costume. appreciate it. [laughter] chris brown may be saved from prosecution by the united states secret service. the secret service thinking oh, god, if we only would have protected kennedy like this. >> the ones on jfk dropped the ball so they had to make it up. >> mystery man. [laughter] >> kim kardashian was on "the jay leno show. they were talking about all of the negative tabloid publicity she got about getting fat during the pregnancy. >> really hurt my soul. >> stopped eat -- stop